In which Sid and Doris prepare to go to sea, but do not go, yet.
Lockerbie’s Townhead Hotel deserves all its many awards and Sid and Doris could have cycled on the rations they ate this morning, but got in the car anyway. No one cycles with this much luggage, not even people with those spiffy little cycle trailers.
We head north or rather NORTH and see snow on the mountains on our right. Some discussion on the name for the mountains, followed by the inevitable session with Mr Google. They are the Southern Uplands, apparently. We are headed to the border between the Grampians and the NorthWest Highlands.
The scenery builds excitement as we head towards the lovely road around Loch Lomond. And just as we got to the best winding shoreside bit there was an artic with twenty cars behind. On the one hand not so exhilarating a drive, on the other more time to enjoy the loch and mountains. Gradually the Golf worked its way up the queue and got away. As Mr Robillard and Mr Bat say, Wheee.
Dunstaffnage Marina is a few miles before Oban and we drop in to see the charter company and Flyer ll. It is a tidy boat, the sun is out, the day is clear and the location is idyllic.
The chandlery is Covid not open but as it is fine morning they are happy to bring stock outside for inspection and soon we have spiffy new sea boots. Very necessary given the weather today and what is on offer for the next few days.
Oban did not get much of a visit on the Not the Thistle and today we don’t really remedy that bar a walk around town for ice cream lunch and photos of picturesque fishing boats. You may know the Scottish fishermen voted to leave the EU so they could have the waters to themselves. Now they can’t export to Europe what they catch and the British don’t eat what is caught locally. Unintended consequences.
A navigational aid is on offer in the form of a crossstitch tapestry. Doris is tempted but Sid presses on for a £200 trolley dash through Tesco victualling for 14 days on a boat with storage for a long weekend and a cooker with no grill. Happily Tesco had a cheap electric toaster so ho for shore power. No, seriously, we will not a lack of toast stop us anchoring over night in out of the way bays and getting the bird books out.
In COVID times boat handover briefings come as iPad videos, an innovation charter companies are sure to retain. We work our way through the episodes and then engage with the inventory. Six teaspoons not much of a challenge even for S, but some of the items are more mysterious. The forestay adjuster? The VHF emergency arial?
We go back above deck for beers in the chilly but pretty outdoors, and a planning session with the chart pack. As you know our log book will say ‘Towards’, but an outline plan is to go into Loch Aline on Saturday and then make for Tobermory on Mull for Sunday with Skye in our sights next week. All strategies subject to windiness meteorological and psychological. The map has been updated here.
The oven has been on, our fan heater has been on, yet as the sun sets late in the evening here in Scotland we are very aware that there is snow on the hills even though it’s May. Doris has cranked up the diesel central heating. The sea is not freezing, it just feels like it in here so we will soon be under the duvet.